Florida Department of CorrectionsJulie L. Jones, Secretary

Facilities

Florida correctional facilities are divided into major institutions, work camps, work release centers, and road prisons. The classification of inmates into these different facilities takes into account the seriousness of their offenses, length of sentence, time remaining to serve, prior criminal record, escape history, prison adjustment, and other factors. The most serious offenders with the longest sentences and those least likely to adjust to institutional life are placed in more secure facilities.

* Institutions with separate units and hospitals are counted as one institution. These institutions are Apalachee East and West units; CFRC Main, East and South units; Gulf CI Main and Annex units; Hamilton CI Main and Annex units; Liberty CI and Quincy Annex; Lowell CI and Annex; New River CI East and West units; NWFRC and Annex; RMC Main and West units; South Florida Reception Center (SFRC) and SFRC South; Santa Rosa CI and Annex; Columbia CI and Annex; Taylor CI Main and Annex units; and Wakulla CI and Annex. The total includes six private correctional facilities.

Correctional Institutions are prisons with fences, razor
wire or ribbon, electronic detection systems, perimeter
towers with armed correctional officers and/or officers in
roving perimeter vehicles. Most of these inmates do not
reside in cells, but in open bay dormitories with bunk beds.
Some exceptions include those confined for disciplinary
or security reasons, and those on death row. These facilities
are divided into seven levels of security ranging from
minimum custody facilities to maximum custody facilities.
About 85% of the Florida prison population is housed in a
major institution.

Work/Forestry Camps are minimum to medium custody
facilities, surrounded by fences and razor ribbon. Inmates
are usually transferred to a work camp after completing
part of their sentences at a correctional institution and
demonstrating satisfactory adjustment. Most of these work
camps are located next to correctional institutions enabling
the sharing of facilities like laundry and health services.
The inmates housed at these facilities may be assigned to
community and public work squads. Their jobs include
cleaning up roadways and right-of-ways, grounds and
building maintenance, painting, building construction
projects, moving state offices, and cleaning up forests. 11%
of the prison population resides in work camps.

Work Release Centers (WRC) house two categories of
inmates: community custody inmates who are participating
in community work release by working at paid employment
in the community and minimum custody inmates
who are participating in a center work assignment by
working in a support capacity for the center (such as food
services and laundry). They must be within two or three
years of their release date, depending on their job assignment.
Sex offenders may not participate in work release or
center work assignments. There are no perimeter fences,
and inmates must remain at the WRC when they are not
working or attending programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
Inmates participating in work release must save part
of their earnings for when they are released in order to pay
toward victim restitution as well as room and board. More
than 3,000 inmates participate in Florida’s 33 work release
programs annually, with about 3% of the prison population
enrolled at any given time. Work release centers are supervised
by the Department’s Office of Institutions.

Road Prisons house minimum and medium custody
inmates and have perimeter fences. Most of these inmates
work on community work squads and the highways doing
road work. Their jobs also include support services to state
agencies such as collecting recycling materials and moving
furniture. Less than 1% of the prison population is housed
in road prisons.